Danganronpa: The Icy Climax Of Despair
by Sparkers16
Summary: I was supposed to be a normal high-schooler at Hope's Peak Academy...but instead I've been spirited away to some camp on the peak of a freezing mountain range, along with 15 other students. And now we're being forced to kill each other! Who will die? Who will be executed? And who's behind all of this? (SYOC, now closed)
1. Prologue-1

**Hello, everybody! This is your friendly neighborhood writer, Sparkers16. I'm pleased to announce that I've received many submissions for OCs. All sixteen open slots have been filled. Unfortunately, there were a few submissions that I wasn't able to include. For those people, sorry! But for everyone else...let's begin, shall we?**

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><p>"I've been attending that school for a while now and I still can't believe I was actually accepted. I'm talking about Hope's Peak Academy, of course. You don't know it? I'm surprised. It's one of the most prestigious academies in the world. Towering over all the other buildings in the city's central, upper-class residential district like a royal float in a parade of peasants, it's huge campus, impeccable grounds, and towering spires give off an air of nobility. The academy's huge budget allows it to hand-pick specific students. Students that excel in all subjects, as well as one special talent they have achieved mastery in. These students of Hope's Peak are often world-famous, accomplished prodigies even before freshman year. Hope's Peak grooms them and studies them, giving their talents a place "to blossom," as the brochure I still keep to this day reads. Those students are called the Ultimates. I admire them greatly. They represent skill, dexterity, and constant years of hard work paying off. They're truly the hope of the world. Ultimates. They were always so far-off and distant to me. Role models I could never live up to. Of course, I was wrong. They're just human, like you and me. I think I wanted to join because I wanted to meet them, and discover that humanity. 'There has to be something beyond that coolness,' I thought to myself. But I never once thought I'd end up as one of them.<p>

"Luck is a funny thing. You never know when it'll be kind and let things work out for you, or when it'll throw you to the wolves. One day, you could win the lottery, and the next, you could die from a car accident. No matter how much you scientifically analyze all the probabilities, in truth there's no way to be prepared for which way luck points. They always show luck as some sort of unpredictable goddess on movies and TV, who holds fate in her fingertips and mercilessly shapes your life randomly. I've never seen it that way. Luck is just a series of chances, chances you don't get to decide whether you take them or not. The only thing you can do is have faith, and hope things work out for you. Is hoping subconsciously praying to some sort of luck deity? Who knows. All I know is that luck favors me. Ever since I was a kid, if I wanted a certain outcome, it would happen. If I wanted to buy a new manga series, it'd be on sale. If I wanted to catch a baseball, it'd sail right into my glove. If I wanted bullies tormenting me to leave, they'd soon find something else of interest. If I wanted to cross a busy highway, I wouldn't receive any major injuries. I guess I'm exaggerating just a bit. It's not like I always get what I want, all the time. No, I've had plenty of misfortune in my life. But it can't be denied. If the probabilities are given the chance, they'll lean in my way. Like when I won the annual lottery Hope's Peak holds so that one average student may attend their illustrious academy. They've been researching luck, faith, and chance, and if there's any way to manipulate the probabilities. It's kind of ironic I ended up winning. Maybe they'd make some sort of incredible breakthrough researching my 'talent.'

"All this time and they haven't learned a thing about me, no matter how many tests and brain scans they put me through. So here I am. Zero Fukuro, Ultimate Lucky Student. Nice to meet you.

"Sorry...that was a pretty long introduction, wasn't it. I know you're a bit crunched on time, but I spent forever preparing it! But anyway, that's enough about me. I know who you are. I recognize your handwriting. I pay attention to little things like that a lot. I don't want to waste your time, so I'll get straight to the point.

"What's this proposal you were telling me about?"

I finish speaking to the person in front of me. I'm not even sure why I went through the trouble of that long introduction. If my assumptions are correct, they already know me all too well. They open their mouth to speak.

And, in a beat, everything as far as my eye could see winks out of existence.

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><p>All I could see was darkness, expanding throughout my entire field of vision. It wrapped itself around me like a thick blanket, blocking out all light and sound. I felt a peculiar numbness spread throughout my whole body. It wasn't a welcome feeling. I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't move. I needed to move! But try as I might, I was frozen. I was nowhere. I was nothing. There was silence.<p>

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><p>At some point, I woke up. I didn't even know why. There was no warning, no drowsy period. My world just winked into existence with a flick of a switch.<p>

I found myself lying face-down on a hard, gray carpet. I felt...like I'd been sucked into a black hole and spit out again moments later. I'd never seen this carpet before. I had no idea what I was doing there, or how I got there. I'm not the kind of person who just falls asleep on a whim. I'm also not the kind of person who often wakes up and finds themselves having been out cold on an unfamiliar floor. My mind was utterly blank, and it frightened me.

I decided I'd had enough of staring at the ground and slowly stood up, limbs stiff and aching. I was in some sort of building. A huge building. The ceiling was incredibly tall, and I had to squint to make out any detail on it. It wasn't just flat; it had many sides, all slanting upward to a single point like a humongous teepee. The interior of this place was about as big as the ceiling was tall. Rows of chairs filled the majority of the room. On one end, there was a large stage and a rolled-up projector screen, hanging down from the ceiling with barely visible strings. This was an auditorium. I had been lying unconscious in one of the aisles. But even though I was able to successfully examine my surroundings, I still had no idea what this place was or how I got here. It looked like an auditorium from some sort of school. School? Was I in school? Had I fallen asleep during morning announcements and was left here on the floor? I didn't remember anything of the sort. My memories were slow and fuzzy. They weren't catching up to my current thoughts.

"Hello?" My voice was scratchy and low, so much so that I barely heard myself. I tried again, raising my voice. "Hello? Is anybody there?" My words echoed, bouncing from the multi-faceted ceiling. No answer. I was alone in here, left behind.

I shrugged it off. _I'm sure somebody just made a mistake and forgot about me. That's fair...I'm not the most memorable person. I get average grades, and my interests are normal for a teenager. I have an average build and height. I don't have any special skills or talents, despite my luck...and honestly, I don't think that counts. I'm not self-conscious or angry about my blandness. It's who I am, and trying to change it would be pointless. Sometimes I wish I was more special and noticeable, though. If I could catch people's attention, I could get to know people better and make more friends. Even among the Ultimates, I just blend in with the crowd. As it stands, I'm not much of a social butterfly. I don't talk to people much and I guess I'm a little shy. I'd like to be outgoing, though. I just don't know where to start, _I thought. But at that point, it was no wonder I was alone there. _I should leave this unfamiliar auditorium and go find my classmates. They might be worried about me._

I walked out of the row of dark blue chairs, legs still feeling a bit wobbly. I paced down the central aisle of the auditorium. Soon, I'd reached the blackened, glass double doors that most likely lead to a school hallway. I deduced that I was in a section of my school that I wasn't familiar with, like the Prep School. I probably got lost and ended up there, where I dozed off on the floor. It wasn't likely, but it was the only possibility that made any sense. _And if that's the case, I'm missing classes right now!_ I hoped I hadn't slept for a long time.

I gingerly placed my hand on the door handle. My hand was shaking. My heart was beating fast. Why was I so worried? Was it because I was undoubtedly late to class? Was it because I didn't recognize this place? That's what I assumed was the reason at the time. And though those reasons were a small part of my anxiety, the truth was much more broad. I was scared of the unknown. Mesmerized by the possibility. I had no idea what awaited me outside that door. It could've been an empty hallway. It could've been hordes of Prep School students. It could've been an open desert, or a forest. It could've been everything, and it could've been nothing.

Of course, it was none of those things. What I saw outside those doors was far, far worse than any of the possibilities mentioned earlier. I didn't expect it, that was for sure. It's always those small, practically microscopic possibilities that will do you in if you forget them. Those tiny slivers on the pie chart are far more dangerous than you think. When I opened those doors, I thought I already knew that. I didn't. My whole life was a series of slivers, but only fortunate ones. Until that day I never truly understood the true dangers of uncertainty. Until that day luck was on my side. Or so I thought. It was biding its time, waiting for the right moment to send me to my doom.

When I opened the doors wide open, I felt a blast of icy wind slam against my face and body. I squeezed my eyes shut against the cold. The unexpected gust almost knocked me off my feet. I steadied myself and took a deep breath. The air pouring in through the open door traveled down my throat and chilled me to the core. It was thin and dry. I opened my eyes, and everything was white. Not because I had fallen unconscious, but because every inch that lay before me was covered in frigid, crystalline snow.

Luck threw me to the wolves that day. And I'd never come back the same.

**_PROLOGUE: WELCOME TO CAMP MONOKUMA, SUMMIT OF DESPAIR_**

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><p><strong>And that's it, folks, for the first prologue chapter. I SUPPOSE I could've written this before I got all the submissions, but that's just too bad! Next chapter, we'll be meeting the other characters in this despairing tale. Stay tuned!<strong>


	2. Prologue-2

**Hello, everyone! This is Sparkers16, bringing you the long awaited (okay, maybe it wasn't THAT long of a wait) second chapter of Danganronpa: TICOD! Before we can started, however, I just need to get some disclaimers out of the way. Don't worry; I'll make this quick.**

**I do not own Danganronpa, its plot, its world, or its characters, the latter which may or may not appear here. This is a fanfiction, and not meant to represent the franchise or make any profit on my part. Most of the characters in this story either belong to me or the people who submitted Original Characters. I have tried to represent these characters to the best of my ability. If the characters do not perfectly match the submitters' personal perception of them, the fault is mine. I may have miswritten them, or taken creative licenses to make the story more interesting. If that is the case, I apologize.  
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**Alright, now that that's all and done, let the chapter commence! **

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><p>Sometimes, there are times in life when something so shocking, so unexpected comes along that you don't know how to react. You find yourself speechless, emotionless, thoughtless. You stand there like a marble pillar, completely unable to form a thought or a word that would apply to your situation. However, those types of events had already happened to me many times in my lucky life. It took a lot to surprise me. So when I opened that door to find everything in front of me white and frozen, as ABSURD as that was, it wasn't one of those times.<p>

Dumbfounded, I took several steps outside. The snow crunched beneath my sneakers with every step. It wasn't powdery and soft like the kind you sing about in Christmas carols. It was icy and grainy, almost as if small, pure chunks of ice had fallen from the clouds and piled up on top of each other. "What the hell?!" I cried out, but my voice was drowned out by another blast of wind. Even more powerful than the last, this time I really did stumble and fall over...faceplanting right into the snow. _God...damn it. _The second I hit the ground, I felt a frigid chill creep its way deep into my bones. It rapidly spread its way through every inch of me, biting from the inside and out. It was painful, yet it wasn't at the same time. I wanted to quickly jump back up, but the cold immediately made me feel slow and lethargic. _What's the point of struggling to find my way back to my classroom? I'll just freeze to death trying to find my way around this place. _It was then I realized how tired I'd been since I'd woken up. _I just want to lie down and rest... _Some primal part inside of me was screaming at me to get up and move, but the weariness overpowered it. I felt my body go numb. My vision, only filled with snow anyway, started to fade even before I closed my eyes.

Then, I heard a voice. I could barely make it out over the howling wind. For all I knew I might've been hallucinating. "Everybody...um, please come here! I found a student!" it seemed to say. Short and quick-paced vibrations in the ground suggested that someone...no, several people were traveling my way. I felt a prick of curiosity, yet I didn't have the strength to raise myself up. Another voice surfaced from a different direction. "Hey! Don't you dare run off and get lost! Where did you go?!"

"I'm over here...!" The first voice responded. It was much closer than before. It was a female voice, high-pitched but silky. "Th-there's a boy here lying in the snow!"

The vibrations got louder as they came closer. Despite my eyes being shut, I could tell there was a large group of people standing around me. _I wonder if they're here to rescue me...I wish they would just let me sleep..._

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands roughly grab my shoulders and shake me back and forth. "Hey! Wake up, man!" A loud voice shouted, ringing in my numbed ears.

"Stop that right this instant! You'll hurt him!"

"We can't hurt him if he's already dead," a particularly bitter voice remarked.

"D-d-d-dead?!" A soft, female voice squeaked.

Someone put two fingers on my neck. "He isn't dead. I can feel a pulse."

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?! There's a big building right there. Let's go in there now!" They must've been talking about that auditorium I just came out of.

"I second that motion! I'm freezing my ass off over here!"

"Don't worry, I've got him," a male voice said. I felt a pair of strong hands around my waist, then the feeling of being lifted into the air. I hung like a ragdoll, too weak to move my muscles. At that point, I decided to let the freezing pain I'd been feeling ebb out as I fell unconscious.

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><p>The next time I woke up, it was a slower process. I gradually regained my consciousness like a zombie rising from the grave. I was lying on the same gray carpet, this time face-up. I felt every part of my body ache as feeling came back into me. Bits and pieces of conversation reached my ears. There were a lot of people in the room, and a lot of different voices. I'd long lost track of which one was which, and they blended together to form a discorded harmony of different pitches and tones. I groaned, knowing I couldn't stay asleep any longer.<p>

"Oh! You're awake," a girl's voice said from right above me. Curious, I opened my heavy eyes and saw a girl kneeling, looking down at me. It took a couple seconds for my vision to focus. She had short, red hair only reaching past her ears and warm brown eyes, widened in surprise. She wore a tan dress with purple flower designs on it, and a long, thick thick green scarf wrapped tightly around her neck.

She was looking at me expectantly. I realized she wanted me to talk. I tried my voice. "Uh...yeah." It was still a little hoarse, but at least I could speak fine.

"I'm...really glad," she said with a warming smile. "We found you passed out outside in the snow. You almost froze to death!"

I winced. Thinking back on it, when I was lying there in the snow, I was ready to just give up and die right there. I wasn't even sure why my resolve had faded so suddenly. Aren't all animals supposed to have a survival instinct that kicks in when they're in danger? An adrenaline rush that will carry them to safety? Why was I just...resigned to death there? I'm still not completely sure. I can give theories, but that's all I have. It's possible that with my luck, I've never needed those basic instincts. I HAD been in life-threatening situations before I came to the icy land I'm telling you about now, but maybe, just maybe, I always knew that I had no chance of dying in those "life-threatening situations." All because of my luck. So my ability to preserve my life could've deteriorated over the course of my years. It was almost as if...I'd cheated Death so many times, I wanted to go to him. Was my legendary luck a blessing or a curse? Well, one day I'd find out. But until then, the prospect of just accepting my death so easily perturbed me. It made me terrified...of myself.

The girl seemed to notice my discomfort. She shrunk back a bit. "Oh...I'm really, really sorry if I scared you! I can...go away if you want..."

"N-no, it's fine!" I quickly said, but it didn't seem to soothe her. "But if you don't mind me asking, uh, who are you?"_  
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She gasped a bit. "Did...I make you mad because I woke you up? I d-didn't mean to..."

"No, I'm not mad," I sat up, holding my palms out in a sign of peace. _Shy girl... _"I was just wondering. I've never seen you before, after all."

"Oh, okay..." She didn't seem entirely convinced. She closed her eyes and started speaking very quickly, almost as if she was reciting from a paper. "My name is Tsuriyari! Tsuriyari Ichinoko! I'm a high-schooler at Hope's Peak Academy. I'm the Ultimate Arborist." When she was finished, she sucked in a breath and stared at me nervously. "I know I'm not very good with introductions. Sorry!"

"It's okay," I said. _I'm getting the feeling I'm going to have to console her like this a lot. _"Since you told me who you are, I'll tell you who I am too. My name's-" But before I could finish, someone else cut me off.

"Look who's awake," another person said, with a bitter edge in their voice. Another person came into view. They stood above me, crossing their arms. This person was a boy. He looked the same age as me, but quite a bit shorter. I was pretty tall for my age, so that wasn't uncommon. I could probably beat him in a fight easily, but his indignant expression said otherwise. He had messy, dark brown hair, and flinty blue eyes. The oversized red hoodie and tattered jeans he wore gave off sort of a gangster look. "Had enough beauty sleep?" he said condescendingly.

I wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. I wasn't the type of person who rose to the bait, and I hated starting fights. "Uh...yeah. I'm alright," I replied, feeling like an idiot.

"...That's cool," he said, to my surprise. I'd expected him to get annoyed. He seemed pretty cruel, but then again, I knew I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. _Who knows? He might be a nice guy. _Then, he spoke again, rapidly making up for the almost-kindness he showed just before. "...Cool like how you were when we found you. I mean, damn. How dumb are you to just take a nap right in the middle of an ice patch?" _Or...maybe not._

Now I really had no idea what to say. What was I going to do? Make up an excuse? Plead that he stop making fun of me? "I, uh...well..." I stammered. I couldn't stand situations like this.

"Whatever," the rude boy crossed his arms and starting walking away. "The name's Kasai Ichijo. Ultimate Thief. Get on up, Sleeping Beauty. You've gotta be introduced to the rest of the crowd."

"Okay..." I frowned. I pulled myself up into a standing position, shivering. My clothes were damp from my ice-nap, and though this building seemed to be heated, I was still pretty cold.

Kasai Ichijo swung his head to look at Tsuriyari, who was still sitting on the ground. Her eyes flicked downward, frightened. "You too, Tsuriyari," he said, his voice taking on a warmer tone. He was a lot kinder to her than me, I could already tell. Maybe they already knew each other? Or maybe it was Tsuriyari's shy nature that made people want to protect her. Whatever it was, I was just glad he took his attention off of me for the moment.

Tsuriyari quickly stood up as well, and Kasai led us to the central aisle of the auditorium. Many high-schoolers were there, chatting idly in sparse groups or standing alone, watching the others with sharp gazes. As soon as I walked within twenty feet of them, every pair of eyes in the room fixated straight on me. Except for mine, which stared down at my shoes. I always avoided being the center of attention. Then, everyone erupted into conversation.

"So he's awake, huh?"

"About time! We've been waiting, like, forever!"

"It looks like he's a high-schooler as well. Haven't seen him before, though. Do you know what his Ultimate Talent is?"

"Nope. I've never even talked to him. Must be one of those shy types..."

"Shy types? Ooh, I love boys like that!"

"He's super creepy. With those red eyes and everything..."

"You've got a problem with red eyes?"

"He probably doesn't even attend Hope's Peak, if none of us have seen him before..."

The conversations overlapped until I couldn't make out a single voice anymore. The other students buzzed and rumbled as they talked and gossiped. This went on for a while. I progressively grew more anxious. The students' words were drops of liquid, blending together. They rose up against me like a tsunami. I wanted to quiet them and introduce myself, but I was rooted to the spot and my mouth was paralyzed.

Then, someone's words overpowered the others. "Everyone, please be quiet!" I looked to the source. There was a tall, tanned man standing in the exact center of the room. His hair was short and dark. He wore white slacks and a bright, golden vest. Even his appearance seemed to dominate. But upon closer inspection, his expression was soft. He spoke again, and his words seemed to fill the entire room, catching everyone's attention. "Instead of just talking about him behind his back, I think we should let him introduce himself. It's only fair." A good portion of the high-schoolers nodded vigorously in agreement. Some stayed silent, but no one protested.

Everyone turned back to me. I gulped, and after a few seconds, I was able to find my voice. "Hi," I said awkwardly. "My name is Zero Fukuro. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student. I attend Hope's Peak Academy, like you guys. It's a pretty big school, so I'm not all that surprised none of you know me..." _Not to mention I'm about the least memorable person you could come across._

"It's nice to meet you, Zero," the man said with a smile. Then, his gaze fell back upon the other students. "How about we all introduce ourselves to Zero, one by one?" They shrugged and nodded, answers ranging from "Great idea!" to "Whatever, I don't care." But none of the students moved. The ones who were chatting together went back to chatting. _I guess they want me to approach them one by one...great. This is gonna be embarrassing as hell._

I'd already been introduced to Tsuriyari and Kasai, who stood behind me. They were standing close to each other, but didn't make eye contact, like they wanted to talk but were waiting for me to leave first. Taking the hint, I walked away from them. It didn't take me long to decide who I'd talk to first. I jogged to the center of the room where the tall man stood, gazing at the other students like a noble sentinel.

"Excuse me," I said, tapping his shoulder. He noticed me and turned to face me. "Uh, can you..."

"Introduce myself? Of course," he finished my sentence in an agreeable tone. "My name's Daisuke Kamiyama. I'm the Ultimate Mediator. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

_Ultimate Mediator, huh? That makes a lot of sense. He's definitely the type of person who can stop any chaotic argument. Speaking of that...I should probably thank him. _"Hey, uh, thanks for speaking for me there. I'm not really the type of person who's good at managing a crowd."

"There's no need to thank me," Daisuke said. "It's my talent, after all. I enjoy being able to help others feel safe in their environments. It's what I live for."

"What you live for?" I repeated.

"Yes! I've trained day and night ever since I was very young to further my psychology skills. I know it's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Not to brag, of course," Daisuke chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

"That's a pretty serious commitment," I observed. "It's what you really enjoy, huh."

Daisuke nodded. "So come to me if you have any troubles! I'll be happy to help you solve them."

"Thanks," I said. _Well, he's a nice guy. He's probably nice to everyone, though, seeing as it's his job. _I didn't know who to talk to next, so I decided to go to the first person I laid eyes on. I scanned the room and my eyes couldn't help but fall onto a girl with shockingly bright, emerald-colored hair. She was one of the ones who was chatting with a group of a few people, mostly girls. I walked up to her. She noticed me and spun around on one heel, facing me with a grin._  
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"Heya!" she chirped. "I'm Clara Mokurel. But just call me Clara! It's super cold outside, don'tya think? I wonder why! I mean, I like the cold and winter and stuff, but it's supposed to be fall right now! It's crazy...just like your name! Zero? Like the number zero? Who'd name their kid after a number?" While she talked, I got a better look at her. Her vibrant hair was short and straight, with a big bow on one side. Her outfit was as crazy as her hair. She wore a light blue shirt with "I LUV BOWS" printed on it, a miniskirt with a long ribbon attached to it, red socks under bright orange sneakers, and a jacket covered in animal keychains that jingled whenever she moved. She continued her tirade. "Oh, I'd better tell you about myself! I'm the Ultimate Archery Club Member, 'cause I'm really good with a bow and arrow! I don't get why I'm not just the 'Ultimate Archer.' My tutor said it's because you have to be eighteen to be a licensed archer. Who knew?"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," I mumbled, "but you asked me a question, right?" _She's so talkative..._

"I did?" Clara cocked her head.

"Yeah...you asked me why my name is Zero," I gently reminded her. "It's because I was born exactly at midnight. You know, 00:00."

"Oh! That's..." she suddenly cut off her oration, looking deep in thought.

"That's...what?" I was the one cocking my head now.

"Um, what were we talking about again?" Clara knit her brows. Her lips pouted. "The weather outside, right?"

"Uh, no...we were talking about why I'm named Zero..."

"Right!" she grinned as if she'd had an epiphany. "That's super cool!" She must've noticed my expression of bafflement, because she suddenly avoided my eyes, looking downtrodden. "Sorry...I'm not the best at talking to people. I forget what people are talking about sometimes. And I also always say the first thing that comes to my mind. People think I'm a meanie because sometimes I say stuff I don't mean to. But I'm not trying to be mean, okay?!" Clara was suddenly intense, harshly grabbing my shoulders and staring straight into my eyes.

"O-o-okay!" I spluttered. Her hands were very strong, probably from shooting arrows, and I found myself unable to escape.

"Great! It's nice to meet you Zero! I hope we can be awesome friends!" Clara let go of me as suddenly as she grabbed on to me, returning to her normal position. I stumbled backwards, almost falling over. _She just practically attacked me...! Yet like she said, I don't think she's mean. She's just...eccentric..._

After being assaulted by Clara, I moved on to the girl standing next to her. She had dark brown hair, with half up in a bun using ornamental chopsticks, along with a blue beret. She wore a pink-and-white shirt, a denim jacket, a black pleated skirt, and leather boots. She cared some kind of leather case. The small case hung at her side from a strap draped from her shoulder.

As soon as she saw me, her face took on a worried expression. "Oh, no! You're all wet, love. You must be freezing."

"I'm alright," I shrugged. "I was freezing before, obviously...but it's warm in here."

The young woman cracked her fingers. It must've been a nervous habit. "Yes...but I'm awfully worried about the weather outside. It's practically a blizzard out there. I hope we won't be stuck in this building for long."

"Yeah, me too," I said. I wasn't even sure how I got to this building in the first place. _But for now, how we got here doesn't matter. There're more important things. _I decided to change the subject. "If you don't mind me asking, what's in that leather case you're carrying?" I queried.

"This?" She tapped the case with one finger. "Oh, my flute is located in here. I absolutely adore playing it, and I bring it with me everywhere I go."

"So...you're the Ultimate Flute Player," I surmised.

"Fluortist," she corrected.

"Gesundeit," I said.

"No, no, no, love," she laughed, shaking her head. "Fluortist, as in a flute player. It's much more elegant than 'flute player' or 'flutist,' don't you agree?"

"Uh...sure," I said slowly. Not being a significant judge of elegance, I had no clue how one word was fancier than another. Must've been a girl thing. "So, what's your name?"

"I go by the title of Kanon Yoshida, Ultimate Fluortist," she said, taking a curtsy. "It's wonderful to make your acquaintance, Zero Fukuro."

"Yeah, you too," I smiled a bit. _A bit formal, but she's pretty nice._

I moved on to the next person, another girl in the group of chattering students. "Howdy, Mr. Fukuro! I'm Taylor Matthews, Ultimate Southern Belle." She introduced herself with a warm smile. Just as her Ultimate Talent suggested, she spoke in a Southern American accent. She had wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes. She wore a white, frilly, flowery dress with a pink bow on the side, as well as a cream-colored straw hat.

I was a little curious, and she seemed friendly, so I decided to question her further. "You're the...Ultimate Southern Belle? What exactly do you do?"

"I'm a chief cook and bottle washer," Taylor answered. "It's only proper for a lady!"

"Uh...what?" I faltered._ She washes bottles?__  
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Taylor's face fell. She launched into an explanation. "That means that I have a lot of different skills, like cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, farming, all the like. A true southern belle should know how to do all sorts of things. I only just moved to this country, and I'm all out of kilter from the culture shock, you see."

"Oh," I exhaled in realization. That made a lot more sense. "So you came here from America? You speak Japanese really well."

Taylor beamed. I could tell she took my compliment to heart. "Thank you very much! I've been studying this language for a long time now. I figure I've about got it down, but dealing with those expressions and metaphors ain't going to be easy."

"I can imagine," I said, trying my best to sound sympathetic.

"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fukuro," Taylor said, grabbing my hand in a strong handshake.

I shook back vigorously. "You too." _It's always advantageous to make a good first impression. She seems nice; maybe we can be friends._

I caught the attention of another high-schooler. He was a tall guy, looking right at home gossiping with the girls. He quickly strode towards me. Before I could say hello, to my shock, he put a hand on my head and started running his fingers through my hair.

"W-what are you doing...?!" I exclaimed, more surprised than angry.

"Hm..." he muttered softly to himself, ignoring me. He was completely immersed...in the top of my head. "Simple black hair, doesn't appear to be dyed. Medium length for a boy, naturally swept to the left side. Just a touch greasy." He locked eyes with me, noticing me as a person for the first time. His eyes were narrowed and stern. "You should wash your hair more."

The other girls I'd already spoken to snickered, and I felt my face go red. "C-could you please not say stuff like that in front of everyone...?" I moaned.

"Ah, nobody cares about stuff like that, dude!" the high-schooler threw his head back. He wore tight-fitting, light gray pants and an oversized purple coat with white pockets. His hair was a medium length, and it was dyed and layered to create a gradient effect where the top was light and it got progressively darker as it went down his scalp. It looked smooth and silky; not a single strand was out of place. I could instantly tell he cared about it a great deal more than I did.

"I'm pretty sure they do care..." I said, still feeling upset over his denouncement of my personal hygiene. _That kind of stuff is none of his business! I mean, I don't really care what other people think of me, but that doesn't mean it isn't hurtful..._

"Tch...you angry at me? Sorry then, pal," he apologized, but I got the feeling he wasn't very concerned about whether I forgave him or not. "Anyway, my name's Hibiki Yukata, Ultimate Hairdresser! It'll be a household name someday so don't you forget it!" _Ultimate Hairdresser, huh? What a shocker..._

"Alright, I won't." I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and let go of his slightly rude remark. _Maybe he's just a little naïve to others's feelings. He doesn't seem like a bad person, at least._

Having been finished with the small group of students, I left them to continue talking and moved on to the next person, a small, slender boy standing several yards from the group. He looked like he was on the verge of joining the conversation, and he bore a conflicted expression.

"Hi," I approached him. I probably felt more confident because he looked a lot younger than me. I was considerably taller than him. Standing next to him, he only came up to my chest. His hair was blonde and in a bowl-cut. His eyes were bright green. He wore a white polo shirt under a dark green jacket, and black trousers. "What's your name?" I asked.

The boy's thick eyebrows scrunched downward. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He balked for a second before speaking. "My name is Atsuko Gushiken," he said. His voice wasn't quiet, but it was high and formal, almost timid-sounding. "I'm the Ultimate Pianist."

"ULTIMATE Pianist?" I repeated slowly. "You look a little young to be attending Hope's Peak Academy."

Atsuko's eyebrows lowered further, and I could tell that he was annoyed. I took a step back. "Pardon me, mister, but I'd prefer it if you wouldn't make hypotheses about my age based solely on my height." His voice raised by a decibel. His vocabulary definitely didn't sound like one of a middle-schooler.

"Sorry," I gulped, taking a step back.

"It's alright," Atsuko's expression softened a bit, though he still looked faintly bothered. "People make that mistake very often. I get very cross if they treat me like a child. As long as you don't do that, I think we'll get along just fine." Atsuko held out his hand, small in size but possessing long, pianist's fingers. I shook it. When we mutually returned our arms to our sides, I felt as if I'd just made a deal with a businessman. I could tell that we had no further topics to discuss, so I walked away. _He's pretty uptight, but he seems okay...I think._

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a girl. I tried to make eye contact and initiate conversation, but she deftly turned her head and avoided my gaze. She was of a diminutive size, and her thin face was framed by long black hair. She wore dark pants and a turtleneck, and a fluffy gray cardigan. She appeared introverted to me, but not the kind of shy Tsuriyari was. It was more like she was simply disinterested in talking.

"Uh, c-can we talk?" I couldn't help blushing in embarrassment as I stepped in front of her. She tensed up in surprise, still staring at her shoes. _We might be a lot alike. I get uncomfortable talking to new people as well. It's like they're wearing impenetrable armor hiding their personalities and intentions. _

"About what?" she replied abruptly. Her voice was soft and her words were quick.

"Um, well...I'm sort of getting introductions from everyone, so..." I felt our conversation descend from bashful to just plain awkward.

"Oh," the quiet girl shrugged. She paused for what seemed like an eternity, her violet eyes blinking, then: "Hotaru Mizuguchi. Ultimate Astronomer."

"Okay," I said. Another bout of silence stretched on for decades as we stood there, stiff as statues. I wanted to ask her about her talent (I'd been interested in astronomy since I was in elementary school) but I had a hunch that would just make her feel like I was interrogating her. Finally, I felt the need to continue, so I added, "Zero Fukuro. Ultimate Lucky Student."

"I already knew that," she said.

"I thought so," I replied.

"Alright then," she said.

"Bye," I replied. Shuffling away like a moron. _Well, that was the most awkward exchange in history. Add that to my list of achievements. _I sighed deeply, pressing a hand against my growing headache. _Now who's next on the list..._

I wandered around for a while, hands shoved in the pockets of my blue hoodie. Eventually, I found myself standing next to a muscular guy with messy dark hair and hazel eyes. He wore a black tie and a black vest over a faded orange shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. After a few seconds for him to initiate the conversation.

"I like your shirt," he commented, staring at the item in question. My favorite shirt with a panda on it, showing from under my unzipped hoodie.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I chuckled. "Pandas are my favorite animal."

"Mine too!" he beamed. "Oh, right. My name's Gin Litner. It's great to meet you." He extended his arm in a handshake, and I returned the gesture. His grip was firm, and his hands were large, warm, and calloused. I've always found that you can learn a lot about someone only by shaking their hand.

"So, what's your talent? Something sports-related?" I inferred, guessing from his handshake.

His face twisted into a look of conflict, and I gulped, hoping I didn't anger him. But he soon returned to a neutral expression. "No. I'm the Ultimate Bartender," he said. His voice didn't have any traces of anger in it, or at least not any directed towards me. I relaxed a little.

"Wait, aren't you too young to be a bartender?" I inquired, completely puzzled. _He didn't do anything to break the law, did he...? I know that Hope's Peak is pretty lenient about outside laws in their students' lives. I've heard of an Ultimate Outlaw Biker, an Ultimate Yakuza, and hell, I just met the Ultimate Thief, Kasai. I guess an academy that gets its funds from secret government branches and doesn't operate with other schools across the country can bend the rules a little, but still..._

Gin laughed. He answered my question, snorting, "Haha! Don't worry, I've never done anything illegal. Sure, I've had a couple tastes of the stuff I brew, otherwise I didn't I couldn't tell whether I mixed it right or not...but even that's rare. My grandpa is usually the one who tries my drinks."

"Oh! Okay," I sighed in relief. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

"Mmhmm," Gin nodded, smiling. "You too."

I waved goodbye to him and went off on my way. Few people remained for me to be introduced to. The next person I found myself standing near was a tall, broad-shouldered woman. She wore a dark blue jacket with a cyan vertical stripe, black pants, and a long, white scarf under a necklace of large, rough, expensive-looking diamonds. _Are those real? I have no idea. _Her hair was bleached white and unkempt, with bangs covering the entire right side of her face. Her eyes were narrowed and she looked very imposing. I shivered, and it wasn't just because of the cold.

"What." she said, short and blunt. I could almost detect an accent in her voice, but that one word was too little to tell. Her one eye showing was flinty and hostile.

I felt a couple drops of sweat make their way down my forehead. "H-hello...I just wanted to ask your name, and, uh-"

"Aurora Aldenburg." She cut me off. "That all you want?" Yes, she definitely had some sort of accent. I couldn't tell which nationality, though. _I've never really been out of Japan, except for the rare family vacation. _

I took a couple seconds, not too long, to choose my words. This girl looked like someone I did NOT want to piss off. But even though I had the words, strong, marble blocks, in my brain, they crumbled into erratic pebbles as they made their way out of my mouth. "W-well, um I'd like to know your Ultimate Talent. I-If that's, uh, okay, of course," I ended up stumbling and stammering.

"Stop stuttering," she barked. "You sound stupid." Before I could will my frozen jaw muscles to move, she continued. "I am the Ultimate Jeweler."

"Th-thanks," I spluttered. _So those diamonds actually ARE real. She must be a pretty talented jeweler to have gems like that. _

I stood there in stony silence for a moment, until Aurora spoke again, saying, "Why are you still here? I introduced myself."

I could feel my face go red. "Er, um, usually, so far...people tell me a little more than just their name and talent..."

"I don't care. I have no interest in talking to you." I opened my mouth to say something, but she continued before I could. "You're boring. You have no talent at all. You only got to Hope's Peak because of pure luck. I don't care about people like you."

I winced, feeling like I'd just been punched in the gut. _She sure knows where to make it hurt... _I felt an awful sinking feeling. I really was talentless compared to all these Ultimates I didn't know. "I...uh..." I was mature enough not to let petty insults like that get to me, but how was I supposed to respond to that? Aurora had this triumphant look on her face as she stared at my trembling body. As if she enjoyed putting me down like that.

Well, one thing I knew for sure is that it would be the most beneficial for us to stop talking to each other before things got messy. "I think I'll be leaving now," I said.

"Please do," Aurora replied with a sharp glare. I didn't waste any time, immediately rushing away. I couldn't help mulling over her cruelty, though._ What's her deal...? I mean, there must be a reason why she's so rude. I doubt I'll ever figure it out, though. I mean, for now we're stuck in this auditorium, but as soon as this blizzard dies down we'll all probably head our separate ways._

Lost in thought about our current situation, I paced around the room, looking for someone I hadn't talked to yet. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a guy sitting off to the side. He was wearing a black sweater vest over a dark blue dress shirt, light blue jeans, and a black satchel draped over one shoulder. He had a notebook and was furiously scribbling something in it with a red pen. Whatever he was writing, it took up all his attention, and he didn't even notice me standing above him.

"...Excuse me?" I bent over and poked him on the shoulder. Finally noticing me, he gasped and jumped up, quickly stuffing his notebook into his satchel and placing his pen behind his ear in one fluid motion. Standing face to face with him, I could see that he had pale skin and blue eyes. His hair was died a dark purple color.

"O-oh! I'm terribly sorry," he mumbled. "I d-didn't detect your presence there..." I noticed that he spoke with a slight stutter.

"It's alright," I waved a hand. I could sympathize. Sometimes I'd shut out the world around me while performing an important task. I was curious about his frantic prints. "What were you writing? ...Um, if you don't mind me asking, that is."

"N-no, I don't mind," he shook his head. Now he was the one consoling the other. "I was simply...er, t-taking notes about our c-current situation. What with that f-frightful snowstorm outside, and all."

_Taking notes? He was pretty invested in what he was writing for just "taking notes..." Well, whatever, _I mentally shrugged, deciding to let it go. "Yeah," I agreed. "It's pretty bad out there. I almost froze to death..."

"O-oh, yes. A-are you feeling well now?" His eyes suddenly widened, and I could see the obvious worry in them.

"I'm good," I answered quickly, not wanting to make him upset. Hurriedly changing the subject, I added, "So, uh, what's your name?"

"A-Akio Takano," he responded, wringing his hands. "I happen t-to be th-the Ultimate Editor...i-if you e-even care, that is." His face grew forlorn.

"Hey, that's a really...interesting talent!" I speedily comforted him. _He certainly does look like the editor type. Though, aren't they usually more...strict than this?_

"Y-you genuinely think that?" Akio brightened a bit.

"Uh...yeah!" Of course I didn't. But I'm not the type of person to make others feel bad about themselves. _A little white lie never hurt anyone._

"A-ah," Akio smiled shakily. "I-I'm...very pleased to hear that. I h-hope that you and I can get along."

"Yeah, me too," I said. We exchanged goodbyes, and I went off on my way to find someone else.

But soon, I realized that a small group of people had assembled on the stage at the far end of the building. I could hear shouts and whooping. Curiosity peaked, I made my way over. Climbing up the stage, I noticed that several of the high-schoolers I'd previously met were standing around two students, a boy and a girl, that appeared to be arm-wrestling on a podium. They were pretty evenly matched; though their arms both trembled with effort and sweat ran down their faces, neither budged an inch. The students gathered around them were intently focused on the match, some cheering whenever a tiny bit of distance was gained or lost. I would've waited until they finished to ask for their introductions, but I something told me that it would be a long, long wait. Sighing, I gently edged my way through the crowd and approached their podium. "Hi, I was wondering if-"

"Hey, we're kinda busy right now...!" the boy interrupted me straining his arm even further. He had tanned skin and short, brown hair. He wore white, scuffed jeans, a simple black shirt, and a brown leather belt.

While the boy remained absolutely zeroed in on their battle, the girl looked up at me with a calm, perhaps even carefree expression. It looked like there was no exertion on her part whatsoever. She had dirty blonde hair tied up into a ponytail and freckles. She had on a camouflage-patterned vest over a white top, a dark green, pleated skirt, and high-top sneakers. She also had on tan, fingerless gloves. "Pfft, we're not busy!" She leaned over as much as the intense match would allow and loudly whispered, "Sorry about this. Let me just finish off this weakling and then we can talk, okay?"

"Weakling?!" the boy roared. "No way! No way I'm gonna lose to a girl!"

"Oh, shush," the girl bared her teeth at him. "I mean, you're holding your own pretty well, but gender has nothing to do with the blatant fact that you're going to lose to me," she laughed.

"I've never lost at arm-wrestling before!" he grunted, gaining an inch on the girl. The audience gasped, but after a couple seconds, she took his lead away and they went back to being perfectly even.

"So that means you must do this a lot, right?" the girl frowned, staring at her shoes. Then, her head jerked upward and I could practically see a lightbulb above her dirty blonde hair. "I have an idea!" she cried. "I know how we can make this competition even harder." Her eyes were gleaming. "Let's see who can win at arm-wrestling...while introducing themselves to Zero Fukuro at the same time!"

"Uh, what," I interjected.

"It's ON!" the boy shouted back. "Ladies first!"

Without any hesitation, the girl turned my way and beamed, as if she WASN'T in the middle of a fierce competition. "Hey! My name's Kenshi Heishi. I'm the Ultimate Sprinter. It's my goal to be the fastest person alive!"

"Wow," was all I could say. _Pretty ambitious, this girl._

She didn't say anything else, and everything was stiffly silent, except for the boy's occasional growls.

When Kenshi finally spoke again, she added, "You're supposed to say, 'How fast are you?'" _Oh. She was waiting for me to proceed._

"O-okay...how fast are you?" I responded hesitantly, knowing what was coming.

"I'm so fast, I'm in the RUNNING to be in the Olympics!" Kenshi cackled at her own joke.

No one else laughed.

Kenshi looked hurt, but her barely-held in snickers signified that she wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge. "Well, FINE, then! It's your turn," she said, pointing at the boy with her free hand.

"Aw, crap," the boy groaned. Kenshi hadn't even lost the slightest bit of leverage during her introduction. He spoke slowly, and his voice was rough with the exertion of keeping his toned arm upright. "Ugh...my name is Lucas Alexandro. Ultimate Football Player."

After a moment, Kenshi complained, "That's all you've got to say? Come on! At least I made a joke."

"I suck at making jokes!"

"Then at least say something else, so that it's fair!"

"Argh, I dunno," Lucas moaned. He didn't turn his head, but his eyes flicked in my direction. "Hey, dude, can you just, you know...ask me something? About football, maybe?"

"Sure..." I sighed, racking my brain. _Ultimate Football Player, huh? I don't know much about football, hell, I've never even seen the sport...but it never hurts to try. _"Football's...a pretty cool sport," I mumbled, pulling something out of my ass the way a true conversationalist does. "What, uh, position do you play? Quarterback?" I blurted out the only football term I knew.

Suddenly, to my terror, Lucas's face twisted in rage. "...Quarterback? Did I hear you say QUARTERBACK?!"

"W-what's wrong with that...?!" I cried out, quickly stepping back as fear filled my body.

I felt someone nudge me in the side. A girl with long, pink hair was standing right next to me, maybe just a little too close for comfort. "This is terrible! Looks like you pissed off Alexandro. He hates it when people think he's talking about American football!" Her diction was clear and sharp, despite her bubbly demeanor.

"I sure as hell do," Lucas seethed, slowly losing his composure. "I can't stand it! I'm not a quarterback...I'm a STRIKER!" his loud voice made my ears ring.

In the split second that Lucas lost his concentration in the midst of his rage, Kenshi slammed his arm down on the podium. "Take that!" she yelled triumphantly.

"Dammit! That is so unfair! This a-hole distracted me and messed me up!" Lucas gave me an accusing glare, and I shivered.

"That was the whole point of the competition, smart one," Kenshi teased. "Strength isn't everything, you know. You've got to keep your focus...keep your eye on the ball! That's what a soccer player like you would say, right?"

"It's 'football,'" Lucas corrected her, giving her the evil eye. Then, he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Alright, alright. You win this round, chick. But that's it! We're bitter rivals from now on!"

"Whatever floats your soccer ball," Kenshi shrugged.

"It's 'FOOTBALL!" Lucas snarled again.

The match having ended, the small crowd dispersed. I walked off the stage as well, leaving Kenshi and Lucas to their bickering. I felt another nudge in my side, and I realized that the pink-haired girl was still right next to me. I'd almost forgotten about her, and it looked like she was the last person I had yet to be introduced to.

"Oh, uh, hi," I greeted her. "And you are...?"

Ignoring my question, the girl stepped in front of me and turned to face me. Her long, pink hair framed her slender face and vermilion eyes. She wore an odd outfit. It looked more like a costume than everyday wear. Her eyes scanned my whole body, and I felt momentarily uncomfortable. "Uh, what are you..."

"Hm, you're not that bad," she commented, nodding to herself.

"Not that bad...at what?"

Again, she ignored me. "The black hair, red eyes...I like, I like. Sort of the cool, emo look."

"E-emo?"

"But your clothes are ALL wrong!" she whined, jabbing a finger into my chest. "Really? Neon blue? Shorts? It ruins the whole look."

"I'm, uh, sorry...?" I murmured, baffled.

"Well, whatever. The outfit needs work, but you're on the right track. Therefore, I declare that you are...hot!" she squealed.

"Hot...?" I echoed, blushing. _No one's ever called me hot before..._

"Hey!" she shoved me away. "Don't you get carried away now! I only rated you as a 'hot' out of my scale from 'dead fish' to 'steamy love god!'"

I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"But anyway," she said, "my name's Akai Jokuko, Ultimate Roleplayer!"

"Roleplayer? Is that like...acting?"

"Sort of, kind of," Akai responded. "I take the roles of fictional characters or characters I make up on my own, and imitate them per-fect-ly!" She enunciated her syllables with wags of her finger. "I can act like just about anyone!"

"Wow, that's pretty cool," I admitted.

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Daisuke. "Hi, Zero. Are you finished getting to know everyone?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Great! I just I'd let you know, we're all assembling in the middle to talk about our current situation," Daisuke explained. "You two are coming, right?"

"I'll head over there right away~" Akai trilled, immediately running ahead of us to the central aisle.

"I'm coming, too, of course," I told Daisuke.

"Let's go, then," he nodded.

And so Daisuke and I walked to the central of the large auditorium, where the other students were gathered, talking nervously. I was hardly even paying attention to their conversations, or the steps I was taking. My thoughts were wrapped up around everything that had happened so far on this crazy day. The eccentric Ultimate students, the weather outside, the auditorium in which I woke up. Where we were, how we got here, what we were going to do. These enigmatic, unanswered questions wrapped themselves around my muddled mind and pestered me like an itch I couldn't scratch. I supposed all that I could do was work things out with these students that I had just met. _Maybe that way we can figure out what to do next. _


	3. Prologue-3

I found myself standing on the edge of a crowd consisting of me and the other fifteen students. They chattered, whispered, and murmured amongst themselves, hardly paying attention to me. I was relieved I could finally put names to faces. There was Akio, standing off to the side and watching everyone nervously. There were Kanon and Kasai, arguing about something. Daisuke was parting the crowd and standing in front of all of us, about to say something. I knew their names and I knew their personalities to an extent. However, these people still felt like strangers to me.

"Okay, now that Zero is finished getting to know everyone," Daisuke announced, "let's start working this out." _I wouldn't call it "getting to know everyone,"_ I thought absent-mindedly. _A lot of people didn't even tell me more than their name and talent._

"What's there to work out, man?" Lucas crossed his arms, frowning. "There's a huge-ass blizzard outside. We're just gonna have to wait it out in here."

"But the question is," Atsuko said, "is this building equipped to last out a serious snowstorm? Does it have the necessities we'd need to stay in here for a while?"

"I checked around, loves," Kanon offered. "There's a water fountain here, and perfectly functioning bathrooms. We'll be fine on that aspect, at least."

"But what about grub and the sort?" Taylor worried. "I mean, we oughta be able to tough it out for a couple of days, but if we don't have nothing to eat, it ain't happening."

"Yeah! And then we'd DIE!" Clara screamed, making everyone jump.

Kanon cracked her knuckles, lost in thought. "Hm...this is quite the problem. Hibiki and I searched around the place…Did you see anything food-related?" she asked Hibiki.

"Hm...nope, didn't see a thing like that," the hairdresser recalled.

"Useless," Aurora muttered under her breath. The others didn't hear her; I only did because she was standing next to me.

"I hope we won't be in here long," Hibiki grimaced. "I don't know if I have enough products with me to last more than a few days..." He patted the bulging pockets of his purple overcoat. I imagined all sorts of sprays and lotions were in there.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kasai gawked at him. "We're stranded in a snowstorm, and you only care about HAIR PRODUCTS?"

"Are they edible?!" Clara practically pounced on Hibiki.

"Yes, are they?!" Akai followed, shoving a hand into one of the gigantic pockets of Hibiki's jacket.

Hibiki laughed. "Hahaha! I have the girls all over me!"

"Eww!" Clara jumped back. "You're so..." she trailed off.

"-intense!" Akai finished. Clara gave her a look as if to say, "no, that's wrong," but Akai continued anyway. "But you are SO not my type!"

"Tch...I was only kidding," Hibiki grumbled, but he still looked hurt. "And I dunno if my products are edible or not." He smirked. "Maybe we should give them a try?"

"I-I'd prefer n-not to..." Akio mumbled.

Taylor huffed. "Don't get tore up now. I figure Mr. Yukata's just kidding around."

"Besides," Daisuke added, "there's got to be more options than resorting to eating questionable products."

Naturally, everyone paid attention to Daisuke, collectively staring at him. "What other options do we have?" I asked. "N-not like I want to take any chances with Hibiki's stuff, but..."

"We should try goin' outside," Kasai suggested. "As it is, we're wasting away here like a bunch of helpless losers. We've gotta try and signal for help, first chance we get."

"I already told you, there's no way," Kanon scolded him. _Was that what they were arguing earlier? _"It's too cold out! It's true some of us are dressed warmer than others, but nobody could last out there long." _She has a point, _I thought. _Boy, was I stupid to wear shorts..._

"Kanon is right," Hotaru spoke up quietly, surprising everyone. She'd remained silent up until that point. "And also, even if we made a signal, the snow is too thick for anyone to see it."

"Just what makes you say that?" Aurora demanded.

"Well, she IS the Ultimate Astronomer," Kenshi reasoned. "She must have tons of knowledge in this subject...so I'd say the SKY'S the limit!"

Everyone groaned. "Another pun? You've gotta be kidding me..." Lucas said, face-palming. Kenshi just grinned, which irked him further.

"So...this means that we'll have to wait out the storm, right...?" Tsuriyari inquired of me, and I jumped. She was standing behind me the whole time; I didn't notice.

"I guess so," I told her.

"But just how long are we going to have to wait?" Gin asked, worriedly wringing his hands.

"Hm..." Daisuke scratched his chin. "...Hey, Hotaru?" he motioned her over. "Do you think if you went outside for a bit, you could tell how long the storm would last?"

"We could let you borrow some of our clothes to keep you warm," Kanon added.

Hotaru looked uncomfortable being put on the spot like this. I could practically see a spotlight shining down on her anxious face. She hesitated a long time before answering, "...I dunno. I'm an astronomer, not a meteorologist...but I guess I could give it a shot."

"You go, Hotaru! Taking one for the team! It's so...adorable!" Akai cheered loudly, causing the astronomer to duck her head in embarrassment.

"You can take my jacket, love," Kanon offered. After seeing Hotaru's cautious nod, she moved to unbutton her denim jacket. But then-

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU PUNKS!" We heard a massive, screeching voice echo through the entire auditorium. The voice was so rough, scratchy, high-pitched, and filled with pure, boiling malice that it made me want to cover my ears and cry. It sounded like the angry cry of a vengeful demon, like the snarl of a vicious animal, like the furious squeal of nails on a chalkboard. But the reality was much, much worse than any of those possibilities.

"H-hey...who said that?" Kasai wondered. Even he was fazed by the terrifying voice.

"Was someone practicing their voice acting?" Akai gulped.

"Wasn't me," Clara denied quickly.

"Nobody cares..." Aurora snarled, but I could tell that even she was put off.

"B-b-but really...w-who w-was it...?" Akio whimpered, his voice even shakier than usual.

"There's...t-there's something on the stage!" Tsuriyari cried, pointing in that direction.

And she was right. We couldn't see it, but that awful voice and menacing aura were coming from that stage. We were fixed in place, pure, bottomless pits of fear rising in our hearts as we stared at that stage. And, as we watched, _something _sprang up like a rocket from underneath the stage, landing on the wooden surface of that podium.

Then the thing spoke, no, shrieked, in that ghastly voice. "DON'T YOU MOVE AN INCH FURTHER, MAGGOTS!"

There was a long silence as we tried, and failed, to process what lay before us on that podium. "W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" someone eventually screamed. I don't remember who it was, but it doesn't matter. That was what we were all thinking anyway, after seeing something so...ludicrous.

It was...a plushie. That was the only way to describe its toy-like physique. It was some sort of...discolored wolf? The pointy ears and snout seemed to suggest that. On one side, it was pure white and looked like a normal toy. But on the other, it was colored a dark, piney green, and its mouth was pulled down in a menacing snarl. There was no doubt that menacing aura was emanating off of this creepy toy.

"It's a...toy?" Atsuko gasped.

"Some sort of puppy-dog?" Taylor squinted.

"I am not a dog! I am a WOLF!" the toy replied angrily, and Taylor jumped backward in surprise.

"It talks?! What the hell?!" Lucas choked.

Even Daisuke was murmuring something under his breath, quickly and virtually incomprehensible. "That, there must be some sort of speaker attached in which someone is voicing this crazy toy right? Right? Right...?!" was what I could make out.

In of the cacophony of outbursts and yelps, Kenshi was the first one to address the toy wolf directly. "...A wolf...? Who are you-I mean, who's controlling you? Why are you here?"

"SILENCE!" the toy roared, _moving_ as it rose from a sitting position to standing upright on the podium. This begot another series of gasps and shrieks, but everyone was shocked into dead reticence. _It's...some sort of animatronic? It must be remote controlled, right? But why would something like that be in this auditorium?_

"You will not speak unless I give you permission! GOT IT?!" No one moved or even opened their mouths, but the toy continued anyway. "I am Monokami! I will be performing the role of your training coach! I have been equipped with state of the art, long-ranged controls that are more high-tech than the kind they put on spaceships! SO DON'T YOU GRUBWORMS EVEN THINK ABOUT TREATING ME LIKE A CHILDREN'S TOY!"

"Monokami?" "Training coach?" "Long-ranged controls?" Several students echoed, utterly dumbfounded. I was among them, stupefied by the pure insanity of the situation.

The toy-or rather, Monokami didn't acknowledge their confusion in the slightest. "I had to show myself RIGHT THIS INSTANCE, or else one of you BASTARDS would've made a FATAL MISTAKE!"

"W-what mistake?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Don't talk to it, stupid!" Aurora hissed.

"There was about to be a RULE VIOLATION!" Monokami bellowed. The animatronic wolf jumped down from the podium and marched back and forth on the stage, looking straight at us. Even though it wasn't alive...I could see the fierce rage in its leering gaze. "THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC UNDRESSING ON MY TERRITORY!" It pointed at Kanon with one clawed paw.

"...What?!" she cried out indignantly. "But I was just lending my jacket to-"

"NO EXCEPTIONS!" Monokami interrupted.

After a second's pause, Kanon began to button her jacket back up, trembling in fear. "I-I know I shouldn't be taking it seriously, but..." she babbled.

"I'm glad we got that done with!" Monokami said, his grating voice taking on a smug tone. "NOW, I understand that all of you MORONS have no idea what is going on right now, so I shall take the liberty to explain. To start, just WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"We're...at Hope's Peak Academy, right?" Gin hesitantly responded.

"Somewhere in the Prep School?" I added.

"WRONG!" Monokami shouted. "You are in NEITHER of those places! Right now you are in MY TERRITORY. This place has been dubbed Camp Monokuma."

"Camp Monokuma...?" Atsuko frowned. "But that makes no sense whatsoever! We were just at the academy, right?" He looked at us expectantly, and we nodded. Satisfied, Atsuko said, "I don't have any memory of traveling out of the academy. So we're not at this...camp place. There's no way."

"STUBBORN BRAT!" Monokami yowled. "You lousy teenagers are all the same! Always so annoyingly single-minded, always contradicting everything!" The toy's mouth pulled into a deeper scowl as he realized people were no longer taking him seriously. "FINE THEN! If you brats won't be convinced, then just go outside and SEE FOR YOURSELF!"

"You can't be serious," Kanon protested. "There's a BLIZZARD out there!"

"We'd freeze into popsicles!" Hibiki said.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK UNLESS I GRANTED YOUR PERMISSION!" Monokami barked, and they rapidly hushed. "WEAKLINGS! Can't even stand a puny little chill." A few of the more easily-agitated students opened their mouths to object, but fortunately they didn't get the chance to. "Well, LUCKY FOR YOU, I predicted that you'd all be so spoiled. YOU'D BETTER THANK ME FOR THIS!"

Before I could ask, "thank you for what?" Monokami snapped the digits in one paw, and the ground beneath us began to vibrate. Trading fearful glances, we stepped out of the way. Soon, a large, rectangular panel in that gray carpet slid under the surface and disappeared. As soon as it did, some sort of large, steel structure rose up with the squeal of metal on metal. At first glance, it looked like a sculpture of some sort of animal, covered in multicolored fur. But upon closer inspection, the "fur" was in fact many different, fluffy articles of clothing suspended from the metal structure which was in fact, a clothes rack.

"A-are those...p-parkas?" Akio was wondering.

"Looks like it," I said.

"They're very purdy!" Taylor clapped.

"...Is no one gonna question how this thing just came out from underground?" Lucas scratched his head.

"It is only a simple machine," Aurora shook her head condescendingly at him. "Very much like that wolf...or you."

"HEY! What did you just say about me?!" he hollered. "You trying to start a fight?!"

"No," Aurora responded, her expression blank. "I am telling the facts."

"Don't you provoke me!" Lucas cracked his knuckles, his face growing red.

"SHADDUP!" Monokami screamed as he launched off of the stage, landing right in front of them. "There won't be ANY SQUABBLING among you rascals! Or else you'll have to be punished, ALRIGHT?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Lucas growled.

"I AM NOT! ANY RULE VIOLATIONS WILL BE PUNISHED!"

After hearing Monokami's lecture, the two students took heed and quieted, though they still sent glares at each other. _Oh, boy... _I sighed inwardly. _They really don't like each other, do they? That's pretty distressing...we have to be kind to each other if we want to get out of this strange situation. _I felt my eyes wander to the steaming-mad wolf animatronic. _Okay, maybe "strange" is an understatement._

"Um...are these parkas for us?" Tsuriyari raised a trembling hand.

"CORRECT!" Monokami gave her a stiff nod. "I have prepared these articles of clothing with the most advanced materials and heating technology! There is one for each of you, each a different color. Your initials are stitched on the front pocket of the parka that belongs to you. Each of you only gets ONE! SO NO LOSING THEM OR LENDING THEM TO ANYONE ELSE!"

The high-schoolers tentatively reached and and rummaged through the parkas on the rack, searching for which one bore their initials. I followed, side-stepping around the crowd and scanning the thick coats. Eventually I reached out and retrieved a black parka with the initials "ZF" embroidered on the front pocket with white thread. Carrying the dark, fluffy item, I took several steps away from the rest of the students, feeling a little overwhelmed.

Not paying attention to where I was walking, I bumped into someone, hard. "Oof!" The air left my lungs and I almost fell over.

It was Tsuriyari. "Oh, no...! I'm really, really sorry! I'm so clumsy..." she whimpered like a scolded puppy.

"Nah, it's fine," I wheezed. Tsuriyari still looked crestfallen. She had put on her emerald-green parka, letters "TI" stitched on the pocket. It looked like it had been perfectly tailored to fit her measurements, and unlike her loose dress, it hugged her small frame. "Hey, uh, you look really good," I found myself saying. She instantly blushed, looking shocked. _Dammit! What a stupid thing to say to a shy girl like her... _"I-I didn't mean it like that!" I mumbled, flustered. I took in a sharp breath to calm my nerves. "I meant, uh, the parka is very pretty. Is...green your favorite color?"

She nodded, still looking at me like I'd said something earth-shattering. "Um...um, yes. I love the color green. Like leaves on a tree. It's such a beautiful color, representing life and new beginnings...oh! D-did I get too carried away?"

I shook my head. "So...how about the parkas? Are they good quality like that weird wolf thing said?"

"They're very, very warm," Tsuriyari replied. "And it looks like they're waterproof...I think we'll be okay going outside if we wear them."

"Well, in that case, I'll try mine." I slipped my arms through the black parka and buttoned it up at the front. Just like Tsuriyari's, it fit perfectly. _Did the person who made these have our measurements? They WERE on our public Hope's Peak files, so I guess it wouldn't be hard to find out...that's still a little creepy, though. _The outside was covered with waterproof material, and the inside had a (hopefully) faux fur lining. A large hood was on the back, but I deigned not to pull it up over my head. Gloves made out of the same waterproof material were attached to the sleeves. Not even a few seconds after I put on the parka, I felt a deep warmth filling my body, as if I was standing next to a roaring fire. It felt superb compared to the freezing wasteland outside. "Wow, you're right," I told Tsuriyari. "These ARE really warm." Maybe just a little too warm. I was starting to sweat.

I looked over at the rest of my peers. They were all trying on their new coats, as well. It seemed that all the parkas were made of the same material and design; the only differences were size, color, and the initials signifying which parka belonged to which person. Daisuke's was gold, Kanon's was dark gray, Hibiki's was lavender, Gin's was orange, Clara's was cyan, Akai's was maroon, Kenshi's was tan, Atsuko's was dark green, Lucas's was red, Aurora's was white, Akio's was yellow, Hotaru's was a deep violet, Taylor's was light pink, and Kasai's was dark blue.

As soon as everyone had obtained their individual parkas, Monokami's jarring voice reverberated throughout the room once more. "NOW ALL OF YOU GET OUTSIDE!"

"Well...I can't speak for everyone, but I think some people might dislike the cold," Daisuke frowned. "They shouldn't have to go out there if they don't want to." _He's still staying calm in this outlandish situation...? That's pretty admirable. _A good portion of the other students nodded and murmured in agreement with him, giving Monokami cold stares.

"I said GET OUTSIDE!" the wolf shot back, somehow even louder than before. "SPOILED BRATS! IT'S NOT EVEN THAT COLD!"

"Not even that cold? We virtually froze to death the previous time we went out there!" Atsuko shouted.

"And the thick snow makes visibility a problem," Hotaru added quietly. "We wouldn't even be able to tell if we were at the academy or not."

"Thick snow?" Monokami cocked his head. His metallic face didn't show much emotion, but his voice sounded confused. "What in the world are you IMBECILES TALKING ABOUT?!"

Everyone exchanged glances, our eyebrows knotted. "What in tarnation are YOU talking about, Mister Wolf?" Taylor countered. "We were just outside! That snow and wind was blowing harder than a twister in a corn field!"

"I-it would be h-highly d-dangerous to our h-health to go out there," Akio commented, "e-even with these parkas."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT B.S!" Monokami reproached. "The weather out there is FINE, YOU COWARDS!"

"Wait...you mean the blizzard stopped?" I gasped.

"AFFIRMATIVE!" he answered.

"How'd you even know that?" Kasai pressed, his eyes narrowed.

"I am constantly connected to the mainframe of all technology in this place! Therefore, I know about the conditions outside AT ALL TIMES!"

"A psycho wolf-bot that's also hooked up to all of Hope's Peak's data? Wow, this just keeps getting better and better," Lucas pressed a finger to his temple and rubbed it like he had a headache.

"It is pretty awesome, though!" Kenshi was, surprisingly, grinning. "I can't believe the academy set all of this up just for us."

"But all of this is so weird and creepy," Gin frowned. "Honestly, I'd rather just be having a normal school day..."

"In any case, I think we should check outside," Daisuke thought aloud. "We'd better take this chance now to see if this really is Hope's Peak Academy or not. We might not get much time before the snow picks up again."

"Good point," I agreed. I would've said the same thing, but I most likely wouldn't have been influential enough. _Just something about being the Ultimate Mediator commands everyone's attention, I guess..._

And so, in unison, we turned towards the exit of the auditorium and made our way there, step by step. As we walked, what was running through my mind was, _Why exactly are we choosing to leave this building when we came here for safety?_ Of course, I knew it was because of the malicious plushie standing behind behind us, as ludicrous as that sounds. But what would we have done if Monokami didn't suddenly show up? It's both amusing and unnerving how it took a green, wolf animatronic to convince us to decide whether to stay or go. Would we have ventured out, starving rabbits in a below-zero winter, only to freeze to death and have our tiny bodies be lost in the white void? Or would we huddle in our burrow, waiting for rescue that would never come? I doubt we'd even be able to decide. When you have sixteen people facing a tough problem, there is a next-to-nothing chance of a unanimous decision. And most of the time spent deciding will be filled with squabbling. So, though it's still hard to sort out my muddled feelings from this event, I think that deep down, below all the confusion and fear, I was somewhat grateful to Monokami, or whoever was controlling him, for making that decision for us.

However, even if I did have that ounce of gratefulness towards Monokami, that wouldn't last for long. The things that were soon to come would plant seeds of hatred for that wolf in all of us.

Before I knew it, we were standing in front of those double doors with the frosted glass. What lay outside was endless possibility. Was Monokami lying? Or telling the truth? But unlike the previous time I found myself in front of the exit, there wasn't the hesitation and the pondering. My peers took no time and opened the doors.

Another cold blast of wind slammed into us, but this time the parka blocked its bitter chill. I gulped before taking steady yet trembling steps out into the cold.

When I exhaled in surprise, my breath turned into a misty vapor and floated up into the empty sky.

Sure enough, the howling storm had ceased. It was as if the whole world around us had come to a standstill. A few, sparse flakes fell from above, but besides that, there was no movement, no life. Everything was a dull white, from the snow-covered ground to the cloudy sky. Every breath of air was thin and icy, making me want to cough. It looked like there were a couple buildings around, square-shaped lumps jutting out from the ground.

A chilly mist had settled over the area, and we couldn't see very far in front of us. But as we walked farther out, dumbfounded, we soon faced an alarming reality.

Completely surrounding us, surrounding this small area outside the auditorium, there was nothingness. There was this wintry plateau, and peering over the side of it, we saw nothing. There was a virtually ninety-degree angle cliff, and the drop was so steep, and below us was that mist, concealing what lay at the bottom.

Nobody said a word. The job of understanding was so much, any words or exclamations that could've been uttered were swallowed in our shock and our terror and our despair.

One thing was for sure, though: We weren't at Hope's Peak Academy anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>And there we have the third chapter. I know that you guys were expecting a little more advancement than this, but my goal for this fic is not to rush. I want to make it feel like a real story for you guys. Now, I have a few short explanations that I'd like to give, since I know you might be just a bit confused over some things. <strong>

**-Camp Monokuma is neither a typo or a mistake. How that'll tie into the story? Well, you'll eventually find out. Sorry if you were expecting the bear. But then again, there's no guarantee he WON'T appear.**

**-On the subject of our plushie, there's a reason I chose the name Monokami. Just like how "kuma" (as in Monokuma) means bear in Japanese, "****okami" means wolf. So mix the Mono prefix with that and you get Monokami. **

**-These students are currently third-years at Hope's Peak. In other words, they've already been attending it for a couple years, and their ages are 17-18. That's why they already know about the academy's layout and functions.**

**-I've already completely decided on the story layout and major plot points. The motives, victims and murderers, setting, and plot twists have been planned out. So though I love constructive criticism, these things won't be changed if you ask. **

**And there you go. I'm glad I was able to post a third chapter; I've been quite busy with school and such. I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for more!**


	4. Prologue-4

Questions shot through my mind at the speed of light, like thousands of tiny lightning bolts. They were there, and then they were gone, traveling so fast that they made a spinning whirlwind in my mind. But when I attempted to cry out those questions, all I could do was splutter. "Wh-what...how did we...?!"

"There's no way..." Atsuko murmured, his whole body shaking. "There's no way any of this is legitimate..."

"This is a dream, right?!" Hibiki shouted. "Right?!"

Akai pinched Hibiki, who then winced. "Hey, what was that for?!" he demanded.

She giggled. "It's definitely not a dream if you can feel pain!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works!" Hibiki retorted.

"Dream or real aside..." Lucas growled, tensing up. "Where the hell are we?!"

"I could say the same thing," Gin said, twitching nervously.

"E-Everyone, please calm down...!" Daisuke called out over the clamor. "I...I know this is really unexpected but we can't panic right now!"

"We're not panicking," Kasai shook his head. "But...this is some crazy shit right here."

"Agreed," Aurora grunted. _I think that's the first time she's ever actually agreed with someone..._

"There's something awfully fishy going on here," Kenshi thought out loud. "We first thought that Monokami was connected to Hope's Peak, but is this really the type of thing they'd do in the academy?"

"T-the one controlling Monokami m-must bear malicious intent if they b-brought us here," Akio theorized, scribbling notes in his notebook.

"Grrr! I'll rip that wolf to shreds and pull out his innards through his earholes!" Clara declared, looking a lot more excited than the situation called for. "Then we'll sled down the mountain on his body while we drink satisfying robo-wolf brain smoothies!"

"Now that's just gross!" Taylor chided.

"I think...I think we all need to talk this out," I offered.

"Zero's right," Daisuke said, offering me a polite smile. "I understand that you guys are all tense, but we should fully understand what's going on before we decide to take action."

"And how should we go about doing that, Mr. Kamiyama?" Atsuko asked.

"Let's share any information, that anyone here has, right now," Dasiuke suggested. "Does anybody know about this place or how we got here?"

There was a long, empty silence, in which not one of us said a word. Then:

"Well, we all woke up outside during the blizzard, right?" Hotaru said.

"Correct-a-mundo," Hibiki nodded. "Lying in that snow was awful for my hair..."

"And if we hadn't found the auditorium building, we would've froze to death, no doubt," Kanon sighed, pulling up the hood of her dark gray parka with a shiver.

"But, I mean, we already know this stuff," Lucas pointed out. "We all woke up outside, met up, found Zero collapsed outside the auditorium, went inside, and the rest is history. How does this help us?"

"Are any of y'all exceptions to that?" Taylor asked.

"...Uh, I am," I responded anxiously. "I woke up inside the auditorium."

"Aren't you special," Aurora growled under her breath.

"T-that's odd," Akio jotted something down, probably something along the lines of "Zero was an outlier." "I-Is there anyone else who woke up inside the auditorium?"

"I did," Kenshi raised a hand. _And you're waiting until now to tell us...?_

"But...I didn't see you in there, Kenshi," I frowned. "Did you leave the room before I woke up?"

"Guess so," she shrugged. "I mean, it kind of makes sense...you have ZERO in terms of standing out!" _Ouch...harsh joke, _I thought, but I couldn't help but chuckle at her ironic accuracy.

"Okay, so Heishi and Fukur-y woke up inside the auditorium," Akai surmised. _Fukur-y? _"Glad we've got that done with!"

"Still doesn't help us, though," Lucas restated.

"We should be thinking farther back," Gin said. "Like...what was everyone's last memory before waking up here?"

After he said that, I closed my eyes and racked my brain. _Before Monokami showed up...before I woke up in that auditorium..._

What the other students said echoed my own thoughts. "That's odd...I can remember things clearly from a couple weeks ago, or even a couple days ago..." Kanon said. "But I can't think of anything happening right before this very point in time!"

"Me neither," Taylor rubbed her head. "I nearabout can't remember one single thing from last night!"

"It's all...fuzzy..." Hotaru murmured. The others all expressed similar sentiments, scrunching their eyes shut as if cutting off their vision would give their minds a boost to remember what they had lost.

"Okay...now this is SERIOUSLY getting creepy," Hibiki whined. "Are we sure this isn't all just a dream...?"

"Of course it isn't!" Akai shook a fist at him. "Do I need to pinch you again?!"

"Can I do it this time? Can I? Can I?!" Clara squealed. "I have super sharp nails!"

"Let's all not hurt each other...okay, loves?" Kanon chuckled nervously.

"One thing I can say for certain, though," Atsuko spoke above them, "is that there's no fathomable way we came here of our own volition."

"A-and if t-that's the case..." Akio whimpered.

"We must have been kidnapped," Atsuko finished with a solemn and fearless nod. His knees were shaking, though.

Gasps. With a sweep of my vision, I could see looks of shock and outrage erupting on my fellow students' faces like explosions from a grenade.

"WHAT?! No way!"

"K-kidnapped?!"

"You've gotta be kidding me...!"

"DAMN IT! Why did this have to happen to us...!" Lucas grimaced. "We've gotta get rid of that wolf and get out of here!"

"Agreed," Kasai cracked his knuckles. "I don't care if he's a robot or not...that asshole's gonna pay if he thinks he can get away with this."

"Guys...! Let's all please stay calm..." Daisuke tried to stop them, but with no avail.

"You have to be a moron to think we'll be calm now!" Aurora snarled at him. "Nice people like you never get things done."

Daisuke was unfazed by the insult. I figured he got many disrespectful words directed towards him, being the Ultimate Mediator. But he was sweating, his body wound up like a vice that clamped tighter and tighter. _He's strongly against violence...and I agree with him...but what else are we supposed to do? Try to reason with a drill-sargeant wolf robot? Everything about that is ridiculous... _I gave Daisuke an apologetic shrug and joined the other students as they paced back to the auditorium like an army of teenage soldiers, their minds filled with tension and frustration. But just as someone was about to touch the handle of the glass doors, that horrible, screeching voice echoed again, expanding to fill the entire, expansive sky.

"THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR THAT." The voice came from behind us. We spun around in unison, and there was Monokami.

And something about the wolf was different. Not in a good way. His left eye, previously a black button matching the right one, was now red and glowing. That wasn't even the first thing I noticed, though. His metallic voice had changed as well. Though still tinny and gravelly just as before, there was something that had changed. I still can't quite put it into words. Whereas his voice previously contained vast amounts of malice and rage, now something else had replaced that anger. It was something far wider in scope than just anger. Not a hatred for just us students, but a desire to make every person, every animal, every living thing in the world suffer to please some sadistic fantasy. It was threatening. It was terrifying. It was...despair.

I was the only one who seemed to notice it, though. Everyone else glared at Monokami with the same fearless contempt from before. Most of them looked ready to attack him, right then and there. I wanted to warn them. I wanted to tell them something was different, that Monokami's motives had changed somehow. But I was paralyzed, unable to move my lips. Frozen.

"Did you DIMWITS SERIOUSLY THINK you stood a chance against ME?" Monokami bared his teeth. If someone had come up to me and asked if I could find a green wolf plushie scary, I would've laughingly denied. I wish I could go back to a time of ignorance where my life had some semblance of normality.

"There's sixteen of us, and one of you," Atsuko reasoned. "I...I don't think it would be imperceivable that we could defeat you."

"But first, we want answers," Kenshi demanded.

Monokami laughed, an ear-grating cackle. "AHAHAHAHAHAH! So it's answers you want? WELL, MAGGOTS, I'LL GIVE THEM TO YOU!"

"Seriously...?" I breathed. _I guess he hasn't tried to keep his motives secret up until now...but to just tell us everything? No, there has to be something behind this. An ulterior motive. But what...?_

"You'll, um...really just answer our questions straight out?" Tsuriyari squeaked, showing the same concerns as me.

"AFFIRMATIVE!"

Gin took a single, tentative step forward. "Then...is it true? Did you really kidnap us...?!"

"I'M SURPRISED!" Monokami cackled. "I didn't think a bunch of USELESS PANSIES would actually figure that out!"

"How DARE you call us useless!" Clara shouted, charging forward.

"I-I reckon there are bigger fish to fry right now, Miss Mokurel!" Taylor grabbed her by the arm and held her back.

Kanon had her hand over her mouth, her eyes horrified pinpricks. "W-why?! Why on Earth would you take us here...?!"

"...Are you holding us for ransom?" Hotaru mumbled nervously.

"We have families, you know...I bet they're looking for us this very instant!" Gin said, though he didn't sound entirely sure.

"SILENCE!" Monokami roared, and the students who were buzzing with panic heeded. "I CAN'T STAND IT WHEN BRATS LIKE YOU MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. You're a HUNDRED PERCENT WRONG!"

"T-then...why DID you kidnap us?!" I pressed.

"I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GET TO THAT, MAGGOT!" he snarled at me, making me cower in fear. Monokami took a second to regain his composure before flashing us a menacing grin, his eyes, one dead and one glowing, both gleaming with that unfathomably deep passion for watching the world suffer.

"Just in case any of you are DEAF, this mountain peak settlement has been dubbed CAMP MONOKUMA! The purpose of this place is to unlock your TRUE POTENTIAL AS THE HOPES OF THE WORLD!"

"Our...true potential?" Kenshi echoed.

Monokami continued. "Hope's Peak Academy was very helpful in SCOUTING OUT TALENTED STUDENTS AMONG THE WORLD! HOWEVER, it's learning programs were NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH FOR YOU TO REACH YOUR GREATEST POSSIBLE STRENGTH! Therefore, I, YOUR NEW TRAINING COACH, have TAKEN YOU TO THIS PLACE TO GIVE YOU EXTRACURRICULAR COURSES!"

Hibiki sighed in relief. "So this IS some kind of learning program! A really weird one, but hey, I'm not complaining."

"W-what kind of e-extracurricular courses will we be partaking in?" Akio asked.

"You will be put in a training course that will test your PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CAPABILITIES!" Monokami announced. A wicked grin spread itself across his features. "And this course will last...INDEFINITELY!"

There was a long pause. Monokami was shaking all over; I couldn't tell whether it was from laughter, anticipation, or fury. But I was shaking, and several other students were shaking...because of fear. Terror that swallowed our hearts into an endless void of despair.

"That's...not...possible..." Tsuriyari breathed next to me.

"Y-you can't possibly expect that you'll be able to keep us here for an extended period of time like that," Atsuko muttered suspiciously.

"I hope this is a joke, animal," Aurora said, a few beads of sweat making their way down her face. "...I'll kill you if it is not!"

"IT'S NO JOKE!" Monokami replied. "You'd better get used to this place, PUNKS...BECAUSE YOU'LL BE STAYING HERE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES!"

"There's no way we'll be able to stay here that long," Kenshi protested, scratching her head. "This place is on the top of a mountain. There won't be enough resources to-"

"WRONG!" Monokami interrupted. "I shall inform you that we have PLENTY OF RESOURCES! Plenty to last AS LONG AS THEY NEED TO!"

"We've gotta get outta here!" Lucas panicked, frantically swinging his head around, looking for some sort of exit. His eyes focused on the cliff leading down to the open drop. "Hey...what's stopping us from just climbing down the mountain?"

"EVERYTHING, IDIOT!" Monokami belted. He launched into another explanation. "DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW HIGH UP WE ARE?! The only reason you WEAKLINGS haven't ASPHYXIATED is because I'm pumping oxygen into this place TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN!"

"We're really that high up? That's crazy!" Akai gasped.

"It would explain that mist..." Hotaru pointed out, and we all peered over the side of the cliff. There was was a thick, puffy fog obscuring any notion of how high up we were. "It's not just regular fog. Those are clouds...and we're above them. We're above the blizzard now; that's why it stopped snowing."

"That sure would explain a ton..." Taylor kneaded her hands worriedly.

"But if we're that high up," Kanon said, bewildered, "then trying to jump or climb down the mountain...we wouldn't have a chance of surviving!"

"PRECISELY!" Monokami nodded vigorously. "Trying to escape will warrant death, whether it be SNAPPED NECKS, ASPHYXIATION, FREEZING, OR STARVING! YOU MAGGOTS HAVE NO CHANCE OF GETTING OUT OF HERE ALIVE ON YOUR OWN!"

"W-w-we're...t-trapped here...?" Akio squeaked, his already pale face blanched.

"But wait," I held up a hand. "You said, uh, we can't get out of this place alive...on our own. Is there another way...?" I could sense the hopeful tone of my voice. I was desperate, far too desperate, to find a way to make this all a bad nightmare.

"I WAS JUST GETTING TO THAT, GRUBWORM!" the wolf snapped. "There IS one way to leave here, ONE WAY. And this way relates to the aforementioned training courses.

"I brought you puny students here because you're TOO WEAK. You all have the RAW TALENT AND THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT HOPE'S PEAK HAS BEEN CODDLING YOU! Some of you have MORE TALENT THAN OTHERS. WHY SHOULD THE WEAKER STUDENTS BE GIVEN THE SAME PRIVILEGES AND OPPORTUNITIES AS THE STRONGER ONES?! AND SO, I'VE TAKEN YOU TO THIS PLACE TO TEST HOW STRONG YOU ARE, IN BODY AND MIND! During the duration of your stay here, the weakest ones will be picked off ONE BY ONE. And by the end, ONLY THE STRONGEST STUDENTS AND THE STUDENTS WITH THE MOST TALENT WILL BE LEFT!"

"What...what do you mean?" Daisuke's eyes were trained on the wolf.

"You need further clarification?" Monokami growled. "FINE THEN! REACH INTO THE POCKETS OF YOUR PARKAS!"

We obeyed. I hesitantly shoved a hand into the pocket of the black parka. Inside my fingers brushed against something cold, hard, and rectangular. I pulled it out, my fingers slightly shaking. When my eyes laid upon the object, they met a familiar sight. A small, electronic touch-screen tablet with the Hope's Peak insignia printed on it.

"Hey...they're our e-Handbooks!" Gin exclaimed. They were given to us during our years at Hope's Peak. Their purpose was to provide us with identification as students of the academy, as well as serving as rulebooks, schedules, and maps. When I first got mine, I was amazed at the vast resources of Hope's Peak. To be able to provide each and every student with their own personal Electronic Handbook signified massive wealth. _These things are pretty useful at school...but why did Monokami give them to us here?_

"I have altered some of the functions of the e-Handbooks so that they apply to your time here! INCLUDING THE RULES FOR THIS PLACE! SO TURN THEM ON, YOU BASTARDS!"

I pressed a gloved finger on the power button. Thankfully, they looked like they were touch-screen compatible. I watched as the screen flickered to life, illuminating the dull scenery around me. It showed my name in front of the familiar Hope's Peak Academy crest before going to a menu screen. The menu had several options: "Map," "Report Card," "Regulations," "Settings," and something shown with a "?" at the bottom.

"Uh, I'm guessing the Regulations section shows the rules you were talking about...?" I said.

"THEN OPEN IT!"

I gulped and pressed the Regulations button. The screen changed to a list of all the rules. My eyes focused on the first rule and I froze.

_Rule Number 1: Campers must carry out the rest of their lives at Camp Monokuma. Though there is nothing keeping students on the peak of the mountain, trying to escape will warrant certain death. _

_So...they really are serious about keeping us here, _I thought, my stomach twisting in worry. _And if everything we assumed is right, that's our reality. We're trapped here..._

_Rule Number 2: Excluding restricted areas, campers are allowed to explore the entirety of Camp Monokuma. _

_Rule Number 3: Violence against Training Coach Monokami or destruction of camp property is strictly prohibited._

Those first three rules didn't come as a surprise for us, though several select students grunted in anger at the third one. However, it was the next rules that shocked and horrified us all. Because of these next rules, the coming weeks in our days would spin and slide into a painstaking, fiery hell. Our lives would be forever changed, like an empty field being hit by a meteor. It would leave a crater that would traumatize us forever.

_Rule Number 4: The only camper who may leave is one who has killed one of their peers without being discovered._

_Rule Number 5: The Body Discovery Announcement will play as soon as three or more people discover a body for the first time._

_Rule Number 6: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving campers._

_Rule Number 7: If the killer is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed. However, if the wrong person is accused of being the killer, the remaining campers will be executed._

_Rule Number 8: Additional rules may be added at the training coach's discretion. _

I scanned over the glowing white text repeatedly. One time, two times, ten times, my eyes flicking back and forth like snake's tongues. But no matter how many times I read those last five rules, I couldn't accept them. I couldn't accept that we were brought here...to kill. I wanted to say something, anything...but I couldn't respond. I was stupefied, my joints completely stiff as a deep chill crawled it's way into me. Blackness crept around the edge of my vision. _What...what... _What was this cold, revolting feeling taking root in my body and mind?

"No way..." Kasai shuddered. "No...NO FRIGGIN' WAY!"

"You bastards...I can not accept this...!" Aurora was red in the face, veins popping in her left temple.

"He...he wants us to kill each other, it says in the rules to kill each other," Daisuke rambled, his eyes glazed over. "I-I don't want anybody to die, can't let anybody here die, no, no..."

"Why...?!" Kenshi turned on the wolf, practically bristling with anger. "Why would you want us to kill each other?!"

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU, IMBECILE!" Monokami reprimanded. "Some of you don't have the potential to be THIS WORLD'S HOPE! By putting you WIMPS IN THIS KILLING TRAINING COURSE, THE WEAKEST WILL BE PICKED OFF!" Those sadistic eyes that would haunt me for the rest of my life flashed, like he was enjoying this. "The PHYSICALLY WEAK will be MURDERED when they can't defend themselves well enough! The MENTALLY WEAK will be EXECUTED when they can't plan or discover the truth of the murders well enough! STUDENTS WITH INFERIOR TALENT, DROPPING LIKE FLIES! IT IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!" Monokami guffawed. It sounded like metal grating and it sent a wave of nausea rippling through me.

"Y-you sick, sick, fuck," Lucas said, disgust plainly twisting his facial features.

"Who's behind all of this? Who's controlling you?!" Atsuko demanded.

"I can't mess up Monokami...but there isn't a rule against slaughtering the guy who's behind this!" Clara offered, her keychains jingling as she jumped around, agitated.

"HA! DO YOU IDIOTS REALLY THINK I'D JUST TELL YOU WHO THE MASTERMIND IS?!" Monokami exclaimed pompously.

"That would've been too easy!" Akai shook her head. "We have to have a huge reveal, with major plot twists and raging emotions!"

"N-now's not the time for jokes like that, love..." Kanon whimpered.

"There's no way...this is a bad dream, all a bad dream..." Hibiki cried, running his hands through his hair.

"THIS IS ENTIRELY, A HUNDRED PERCENT REAL!" Monokami roared. "STOP BEING A COWARD AND FACE THE TRUTH! THIS IS ALL OF YOUR LIVES NOW!"

"This is...our life..." I repeated, in a daze. I wanted to turn away and stay blissfully ignorant. I wanted to pretend this was a horrible nightmare. But I knew, deep down, that I couldn't keep denying it anymore.

"I suggest you all take this time to explore Camp Monokuma!" Monokami said. "After all, this place will be your home...FOR THE REST OF YOUR MEASLY LIVES!" Leaving us with those parting words, Monokami vanished once again.

There was a long silence. It was filled with tension and unsaid words. Despite the cold temperature, it felt stuffy and uncomfortable. I could hardly move, in fear that I would collapse.

Tsuriyari was the first one to speak. "...N-nobody...nobody would ever kill anyone here, right...? We're all friends...right?"

"Since you are saying that," Aurora responded, scowling, "it means you are unsure of us...already."

"N-no!" Tsuriyari quickly denied. "I...I trust everybody here!"

"I hope you don't." Kasai was looking at her meaningfully. "We all wanna get outta here. And that means...somebody must already be tryin' to think of ways to get away with killing one of us."

What Kasai said disrupted what little camaraderie we had. We all stood there in the snow, trading distrustful glances. I wanted to believe in the Ultimates...those role models that seemed so much more talented and important than I. But I was starting to realize that their talent didn't take away their emotions, their deep, human desire for self-preservation. For all I knew, somebody could've already been working out a murder plot in the deep recesses of their mind.

Monokami's words kept running through my mind. His words about hope and talent, about the weakest being picked off. Those who had the least talent would be the first to die. I KNEW I had the least talent. Ultimate Lucky Student...? Luck wasn't a special ability. Luck didn't favor me. Luck wouldn't save me if somebody wanted to eradicate my existence...or if I would be driven to murder myself. _Will...will I die here? ...No! I don't want to die! _I felt the panic threaten to overwhelm me, and my breaths quickened.

"We...we should probably do as Monokami says," Daisuke spoke up. "And investigate around this place...maybe we'll find a way out of here!" He gave us a hopeful smile, but I knew he was just putting on a mask to cheer us up. A few people murmured in agreement. Most of them were shocked into silence.

The other students dispersed, going out in different directions to investigate the snowy landscape. I was left there alone with my thoughts. _I know I should be taking off, but... _It felt like my anxiety was rooting me in place.

I stood there and thought. And thought. And thought. I tried my best to recollect the memories of what happened before I found myself here, but I found nothing. I theorized who the mastermind behind all of this could be, but I found nothing. I pondered my fellow students' emotions and the probability of one of them committing murder, but I found nothing. I could only come to one conclusion:

That deep, dark, painful, slimy, frigid feeling spreading through me was...despair.

_**PROLOGUE: WELCOME TO CAMP MONOKUMA, THE SUMMIT OF DESPAIR**_

_**END**_

* * *

><p><strong>And there was the prologue! The plot thickens...<strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed! Sorry I'm not a very quick updater. I AM very invested in this story, though, so I'll try to write as much as I can.**

**Oh, and I decided I might start asking a question at the end of each chapter, which you guys can answer in the reviews. Audience participation and all that stuff. So, here's the first question:**

**Who do you think is going to kill someone first? And who do you think will be the first to be killed? (okay, that's two questions, but just humor me here.) Of course, I've already decided who will be playing these roles, but I'd love to see all of your predictions, as well. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Sparkers16, out!**


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